Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

Tumble Dryers: Internet

Carolyn Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will publish the letters sent by the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State and Minister for Small Business, Consumers and Corporate Responsibility to online platforms on the matter of second hand recalled tumble dryers being sold on their platforms.

Kelly Tolhurst: I can confirm that the letters I sent to online platforms on 13th July will be placed in the libraries of both Houses.

Competition

Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to the Guidance on how to prepare for Brexit if there's no deal, published by the Department for Exiting the European Union, what parts of the plan for merger review and anti-competitive activity in the event of a no deal Brexit have been implemented.

Kelly Tolhurst: In September 2018 the Government published the guidance, “Merger review and anti-competitive activity if there's no Brexit deal”. Since then, the Government has legislated for the necessary changes to UK law through the Competition (Amendment etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019. These regulations were approved by Parliament in January. They ensure that in the event of the UK leaving the European Union without a deal, the UK domestic competition regime will continue to operate effectively to address anti-competitive activity and review merger activity. The Government is working closely with the Competition and Markets Authority as it prepares for the UK’s exit from the European Union.

Renewable Energy

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his Department has taken to support the (a) use and (b) production of renewable (i) energy and (ii) infrastructure in each nation and region of the UK.

Kwasi Kwarteng: The Government has supported a number of measures and programmes to support the production and use of renewable energy and infrastructure. The Government has committed to making up to £557 million available for further Contracts for Difference auctions to bring forward large-scale renewable projects and introduced the Smart Export Guarantee in June, to ensure that generators are paid for excess energy they export back to the grid from 2020. On 7 March, the Government announced the Offshore Wind Sector Deal, which will build on the UK’s global leadership in offshore wind and support the delivery of up to 30GW of offshore wind by 2030 in Great Britain; enhancing growth in the regions while continuing to reduce costs. We are also investing over £3 billion to support low-carbon innovation in the UK up to 2021, to ensure that the UK continues to reap the benefits from the transition to a low carbon economy. Previous schemes for renewable electricity include the Renewable Obligation and the Feed-in Tariff Scheme. Energy policy is devolved matter in Northern Ireland. The Government continues to support the production and use of renewable heat with the current Great Britain Renewable Heat Incentive. There is a separate Northern Ireland Renewable Heat Incentive scheme.The GB Renewable Heat Incentive supports the installation of renewable heat equipment in every region of Great Britain. To the end of June 2019, the RHI had supported 70,642 domestic, and 19,455 non-domestic installations. The Government has also launched the Heat Networks Investment project (HNIP) - a major Government project which will invest up to £320m of capital funding in heat network projects in England and Wales. HNIP funds are specifically offered as ‘gap funding’ through a combination of grants and loans and the scheme will be open for applications for a period of up to three years. Previous schemes for renewable heat include Clear Skies, the Low Carbon Building Programme, the Green Deal, and the Renewable Heat Premium Payment scheme.

Renewable Energy: Feed-in Tariffs

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many applications were submitted to the Feed-In Tariff scheme in each of the last nine years in each region and nation of the UK.

Kwasi Kwarteng: The Department does not hold data on applications submitted to the Feed-in Tariff scheme.Data on cumulative installations confirmed on the Central Feed-in Tariff Register by region and nation within Great Britain is published quarterly and available from this link:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/sub-regional-feed-in-tariffs-confirmed-on-the-cfr-statistics

Renewable Energy: Feed-in Tariffs

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what estimate he has made of the amount of money distributed in (a) generation and (b) export tariffs under the Feed-In Tariffs scheme in each of the last nine years in each nation and region of the UK.

Kwasi Kwarteng: The Department does not hold FIT spend data disaggregated by region or nation of Great Britain.Ofgem publish annual figures on total FIT generation payments made and total FIT export payments made, as part of the Feed-in Tariff Annual Report: https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/publications-and-updates/feed-tariff-fit-annual-report-2017-18

Feed-in Tariffs

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the effect of the (a) closure of the Feed-in Tariff scheme and (b) proposed introduction of the smart export guarantee scheme on the use of microgeneration technologies by residents.

Kwasi Kwarteng: The Impact Assessments for both the closure of the Feed-in Tariff (FIT) and the introduction of the Smart Export Guarantee (SEG) included illustrative deployment scenarios for the technologies covered by FIT/SEG. These can be accessed from the following links:FIT closure Impact Assessment (p 10): https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/feed-in-tariffs-schemeSEG Impact Assessment (p 8): https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/the-future-for-small-scale-low-carbon-generation

Renewable Heat Incentive Scheme

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what plans he has to maintain support for small-scale renewable heat generation beyond the termination of the Domestic Renewable Heat Initiative in March 2021.

Kwasi Kwarteng: The budget for the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) has been set out to the end of March 2021. Decisions on the future funding for the RHI will be set out in the Spending Review. The government is committed to phasing out installation of fossil fuel heating in buildings not connected to the gas grid during the 2020s. As announced by the Chancellor in the Spring Statement, Government also intends to introduce a Future Homes Standard by 2025, for new build homes to be future-proofed with low carbon heating and world-leading levels of energy efficiency.

Feed-in Tariffs: Expenditure

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what estimate he has made of the projected undistributed expenditure in relation to the Feed-In Tariff scheme as a result of the early closure of that scheme.

Kwasi Kwarteng: The Feed-in Tariff closed as expected on March 31st 2019 having successfully brought forward over 6GW of small-scale low carbon generation capacity. Financial limits were imposed on the scheme from 2016 Q2 to scheme closure, with the total annual payments to all installations during this period capped at £100m (2011/2012 prices). Based on Ofgem’s deployment reports, the scheme fell within this limit by £38m (2011/2012 prices).

Accountancy and Audit

Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to the Guidance on how to prepare for Brexit if there's no deal, published by his Department, what parts of the plan for accounting and audit in the event that the UK leaves the EU without a deal have been implemented.

Kelly Tolhurst: If the UK leaves the EU without a withdrawal agreement, UK registered auditors will be treated largely as third country auditors in the EEA. Similarly, UK companies will be treated largely as third country companies for accounting and audit purposes. EEA auditors and EEA companies in the UK will also be treated as third country auditors and third country companies in the UK under changes that will be made effective in part through amendments to UK legislation. However, the UK Government has put in place a framework that will allow some continuing market access for EEA auditors to the UK for a limited period in order to provide continuity for businesses in the period following the UK’s exit. The Government’s technical notice on accounting and audit if there is no Brexit deal sets out the implications of No Deal for businesses operating across the EU/UK border. Almost all the legislative changes referenced in this guidance have been made via:- the Statutory Auditors and Third Country Auditors (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019;- the Accounts and Reports (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019;- the International Accounting Standards and European Public Limited-Liability Company (Amendment etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019.

Electricity Generation

Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to his Department's Guidance on how to prepare for Brexit if there's no deal, what parts of the Government’s plan for generating low-carbon electricity in the event of the UK leaving the EU without a deal have been implemented.

Kwasi Kwarteng: The Government has passed legislation which will enable the continued operability of the Feed-in Tariffs scheme, Contracts for Difference scheme, and the Renewables Obligation in the event of a no deal exit from the EU. In the Clean Growth Strategy, government confirmed it would be making up to £557 million (2011/12 prices) of annual support available for further Contracts for Difference, providing industry with the certainty they need to invest in new projects. The Department’s guidance states that in a no deal scenario, the government has legislated to ensure that Renewable Energy Guarantees of Origin issued in EU countries, including for combined heat and power will continue to be recognised. This will allow electricity suppliers to continue to use EU Renewable Energy Guarantees of Origin and will ensure that existing supply contracts are not compromised, in so far as these contracts depend upon Renewable Energy Guarantees of Origin. This position will be kept under review.

Overseas Workers: EU Countries

Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether UK workers spending longer than 90 out of 180 days in the EU will be subject to additional (a) administration, (b) costs, and (c) visas in the event that the UK leaves the EU without a deal.

Kelly Tolhurst: In the event of no deal, the European Union will grant UK citizens visa-free travel to the EU and Schengen-associated countries for business meetings, training, attending conferences, sports/cultural events and short-term study for up to 90 days in any 180 day period.If UK citizens are undertaking activity outside of these areas, or intend to stay for more than 90 days in any 180 day period, they will need to check with their EU host country authorities on their status. This is because visa and work permit requirements vary between Member States. This may involve some administrative processes and costs, and again this will depend on the country visited and the activity undertaken.The Government has published guidance on travel, work and provision of services to EU and EFTA countries in the event of no deal, including guidance on business travel and visa requirements. This can be found on Gov.uk at the following addresses:https://http://www.gov.uk/government/collections/providing-services-to-eea-and-efta-countries-after-eu-exithttps://http://www.gov.uk/visit-europe-brexit

Department of Health and Social Care

NHS: Drugs

Dr Rosena Allin-Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment he has made of the potential effect of the UK leaving the EU on the supply of drugs to the NHS.

Chris Skidmore: The United Kingdom will leave the European Union on 31 October, with or without a deal. The Government would prefer the UK to leave the EU with a deal and, in the event that the UK leaves the EU with a new deal, the Department’s assessment is that access to medicines and medical devices will not change for industry or the National Health Service.While the Prime Minister is confident that he can strike a new arrangement with the EU, it is vital that we prepare for a ‘no deal’ outcome. Therefore, as a responsible Government, we continue to take steps to ensure the supply of medicines and medical products is uninterrupted in a ‘no deal’ scenario.On 26 June, we wrote to suppliers of medicines to the UK from or via the EU or European Economic Area setting out our continuing multi-layered approach to ensure the continuity of supply of all medicines and medical products in a potential ‘no deal’ exit scenario on 31 October.Further details can be found at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/news/medicines-and-medical-products-supply-government-updates-no-deal-brexit-plansAhead of 31 October, all necessary funding will be made available to support our ‘no deal’ preparations. On 1 August, Her Majesty’s Treasury announced an additional £434 million made available to help ensure continuity of supply of vital medicines and medical products, including through freight capacity, warehousing and stockpiling.We are confident that the Department is doing everything appropriate to prepare for a possible ‘no deal’ EU exit on 31 October. We are working with our partners, including suppliers, freight companies and the health and social care system and our plans should ensure the supply of medicines and medical products remains uninterrupted.

Department for Education

Sign Language: Education

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the effect of the cost of learning BSL on take up of those courses.

Mrs Kemi Badenoch: Holding answer received on 25 July 2019



The government currently provides funding for adult learners aged 19 and over to undertake British Sign Language (BSL) qualifications through the Adult Education Budget (AEB), up to and including level 2. BSL forms part of the flexible local offer (non-statutory) and qualifications are either fully funded (if the learner is unemployed or participating in the low wage trial) or co-funded depending on the age, prior achievement and employment status of the learner. BSL qualifications at level 3 and above can be funded through an Advanced Learner Loan. We have not undertaken any recent assessment of the impact of costs on learners looking to participate in BSL courses, therefore we are unable provide a formal assessment of the impacts of cost on participation levels. However, the department publishes the National Aims Report showing the number of further education and skills enrolments by individual learning aim, broken down by different type of provision including BSL aims. Only aims with 50 or more enrolments per year are included in this report. This report can be found at the following link: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/777927/FEandSkills-National-Aims-1718-Final_v2.xlsx. From the start of the 2019/20 academic year approximately 50% of the AEB will be devolved to 6 Mayoral Combined Authorities (MCAs) and delegated to the Mayor of London acting through the Greater London Authority (GLA). From that date the MCAs/GLA will be responsible for commissioning and funding AEB provision for learners in their areas. The Education and Skills Funding Agency will be responsible for funding AEB provision, including BSL provision, for learners in non-devolved areas.

Pupils: Sanitary Protection

Dr David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what progress is being made on the commitment to offer free sanitary products to schools by the start of the 2019-20 school year.

Mrs Kemi Badenoch: Holding answer received on 24 July 2019



The former Chancellor of the Exchequer (Philip Hammond), my right hon. Friend, the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge, announced in his Spring Statement on 13 March 2019 that the Department for Education will lead a scheme to provide access to free sanitary products in all secondary schools and colleges across England. On 16 April 2019, the former Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Children and Families (Nadhim Zahawi). my hon. Friend, the Member for Stratford-upon-Avon, announced that funding would be extended to cover need in primary schools and that national roll-out would take place in early 2020.The invitation to tender for the period products scheme closed on 15 July 2019. The department is also working with stakeholders to develop guidance that will support institutions in embedding this scheme.

English Language: Education

Dr Rosena Allin-Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether his Department has conducted an impact assessment on changes in English for Speakers of other Languages funding.

Dr Rosena Allin-Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps the Government has taken to ensure that people who are granted refugee status and who do not speak English as their first language are offered a two-year course in English as a foreign language.

Mrs Kemi Badenoch: The government recognises that learning English is essential to help people integrate into life in England, including breaking down barriers to work and empowering refugees to rebuild their lives. That is why the Department for Education supports adults in England through the Adult Education Budget (AEB) to secure the English language skills they need. The AEB is allocated on an annual basis, and colleges and adult learning providers have the freedom and flexibility to determine how they use their AEB allocation to meet the needs of their communities. This includes planning, with local partners, the English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) courses that they will deliver locally. The Home Office and the Department for Education have also provided £10 million specifically to enable refugees resettled through the Vulnerable Persons Resettlement Scheme to access additional classes.The government has committed to developing a new strategy for ESOL in 2019. The strategy will provide a shared vision for all publicly funded English language provision including addressing the needs of refugees and migrants. Funding for all programmes beyond 2019/20, including any potential funding for this strategy, will be set during the upcoming Spending Review.

Further Education: Finance

Dr Rosena Allin-Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the real terms changes in Government funding for Further Education colleges was between 2010 and 2018.

Mrs Kemi Badenoch: Published further education (FE) college accounts for 2009/10 show that total funding body and government agencies income came to £5,888 million. Adjusted for inflation, that is the equivalent of £6,724 million in 2017/18. Published FE college accounts data shows that total income to FE colleges from funding body grants in 2017/18 came to £4,642 million. This includes data from those colleges which had submitted their finance record by 31 December 2018. The difference in part reflects reforms to funding, which have led to colleges receiving income from other sources. The 2017/18 figure does not include college income from Advance Learner Loans, employer payments for apprenticeships, or higher education tuition fees. There has also been demographic change, with a decline in the number of 16-19 year olds in the publication during the period covered.

Further Education: Finance

Dr Rosena Allin-Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether his Department plans to increase funding for Further Education colleges.

Mrs Kemi Badenoch: We are reviewing this carefully ahead of the next Spending Review and are considering how effective our funding and regulatory structures are in supporting providers to deliver excellent education for young people and adults.We have been working with the sector to ensure the system can support sustainable, high-quality education, and effective recruitment and retention of teachers and leaders.

Pupil Premium

Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps the Government is taking to encourage schools to consult parents on how Pupil Premium Plus funding should be spent.

Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of requiring schools to provide on request to parents (a) a general outline of spending of Pupil Premium Plus funding and (b) information on where that funding has been pooled for the benefit of a cohort.

Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of requiring schools to develop separate policies for Pupil Premium funding and Pupil Premium Plus funding to recognise the differing needs of children and young people who are eligible for each.

Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of commissioning research to establish best practice on spending of Pupil Premium Plus funding in schools.

Mrs Kemi Badenoch: Holding answer received on 25 July 2019



There are 2 types of pupil premium plus funding. Pupil premium plus for looked-after children is managed by the local authority’s Virtual School Head, and is separate from wider pupil premium plus funding for previously looked-after children. Pupil premium plus for previously looked-after children is paid directly to schools, and it is for them to decide how it should be used to raise the attainment of all eligible pupils.Guidance for schools on the use of pupil premium plus can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/designated-teacher-for-looked-after-children. The guidance states that, for previously looked-after children, ‘the designated teacher should work closely with their parents and guardians as they will understand their child’s needs better than anyone else. The designated teacher should make themselves known to parents as someone they can talk to about issues affecting their child’s education’. The guidance is clear that parents and guardians ‘should be encouraged to participate in discussions about their child’s support needs and strategies to meet identified needs, including how pupil premium plus should be used to support their child’. School Information Regulations and Funding Agreements require schools to publish their strategy for using the pupil premium. The requirements include identifying barriers to learning and setting out how these will be addressed. As individual needs will differ, the strategy that should cover both the pupil premium for economically disadvantaged pupils and pupil premium plus for looked-after and previously looked-after pupils needs to be flexible and responsive, and can allow funding to be combined to increase its effectiveness. Owing to the low numbers of looked-after and previously looked-after pupils in schools, it would not be appropriate, nor permitted under data protection law, to publish separate strategy details that could identify them. We have given a commitment in our concluding publication on the Children in Need review to work in conjunction with the What Works Centre for Children’s Social Care and the Education Endowment Foundation to support schools in making best use of pupil premium, including pupil premium plus, to identify and bring together best practice for the education of the most disadvantaged children.

Lifelong Education: Digital Technology

Angela Rayner: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he has taken to introduce (a) a right to lifelong learning in digital skills and (b) a right for all employees to request leave for training.

Mrs Kemi Badenoch: Holding answer received on 25 July 2019



The government recognises the importance of digital skills to employability and participation in society. To help tackle digital exclusion, from 2020, we will fully fund adults with no or low digital skills to undertake new improved digital qualifications free of charge. These will be based on new national standards which set out the digital skills people need to get on in life and work.In the interim, we will continue to support the provision of basic digital skills training for adults in colleges and community learning settings through the Adult Education Budget and other programmes.With regard to requesting leave for training or study, an employee can request time off if they have worked for their employer for at least 26 weeks, if the training will support them in their job role, and if the organisation they work for has at least 250 staff.

Vocational Education

Angela Rayner: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he has taken to introduce a UCAS-style portal for technical education.

Mrs Kemi Badenoch: Holding answer received on 25 July 2019



The department is keen to make the system easier to navigate for young people considering taking technical and vocational routes and has therefore conducted extensive research with over 2,000 young people, colleges and career advisers. While the research indicated that young people would value a central source of information as they make decisions about their next steps, it did not show that they found the application process itself challenging.As a result, the department is focusing first on ensuring young people have the right information on all of their options, including on technical education and apprenticeships. The department is redeveloping the National Careers Service website, including the post-16 course directory, and our careers strategy sets out our plans for improving the careers provision that young people receive in school or college.The department is still considering the feasibility and practicality of a centralised portal for further education and will make final decisions on this in the context of wider reforms to technical qualifications.

Apprentices: Travel

Stephanie Peacock: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he has taken  to introduce discounted bus and train travel for apprentices since June 2017.

Mrs Kemi Badenoch: Holding answer received on 25 July 2019



In January 2019, the government announced the 16-17 Railcard, which will offer half price rail fares to 16 and 17 year-olds from September 2019. This will benefit apprentices and those in further education. Further details about the 16-17 Railcard will be announced later this year. The Department for Education and the Department for Transport are currently preparing a joint proposal for discounted public transport, including bus and train travel, for apprentices. They are keen to work with stakeholders to address how we can best ensure that young people are not deterred from taking up apprenticeship opportunities due to travel costs and will continue to work together to support other forms of discounted travel for apprentices.

Children: Exploitation

Mr Steve Reed: To Ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 15 July 2019 to Question 273801 on Child Exploitation, how many children-in-need assessments were undertaken in which criminal exploitation through county lines was identified as a potential risk to the child’s life in each year since 2015.

Mrs Kemi Badenoch: Holding answer received on 25 July 2019



Regarding the number of children in need assessments undertaken in which criminal exploitation through county lines was identified as a potential risk to the child’s life, the information requested is not held centrally. As part of the Children in Need census, we collect factors identified at the end of the assessment. These factors include trafficking, gangs and child sexual exploitation. However, this information gives no specific indication of county lines involvement or a risk to the child’s life. The information in fact indicates that the child has been referred and assessed by the local authority and that these issues were a factor at the end of assessment. Information on the number of factors identified at the end of assessment, including trafficking, gangs and child sexual exploitation, is published in table C3 of the ‘Characteristics of children in need’ statistical release, which can be viewed at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/statistics-children-in-need.

Children: Exploitation

Mr Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 15 July 2019 to Question 273801 on Child Exploitation, what plans his Department has to ensure that local authorities monitor the risk of criminal exploitation to children within their area.

Mr Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 15 July 2019 to Question 273801 on Child Exploitation, if his Department will take steps to ensure that (a) local authorities and (b) police forces collect data on children at risk of criminal exploitation within their areas.

Mrs Kemi Badenoch: Holding answer received on 31 July 2019



Further to the answer provided by the former Home Secretary (Sajid Javid), my right hon. Friend, the Member for Bromsgrove, on 15 July, the statutory guidance ‘Working together to safeguard children (2018)’ sets out how the 3 safeguarding partners – the police, Clinical Commissioning Groups and the local authority - should have a clear understanding of the collective needs of children locally when commissioning effective services. These collective needs include the risks of criminal exploitation that are faced by children. In addition, the local authority is under a duty to monitor and report on serious child safeguarding incidents to the Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel. The safeguarding partners must publish an annual report setting out what they have done as a result of the arrangements, including how effective these arrangements have been in practice. They must also include how they will use data and intelligence to assess the effectiveness of the help being provided to children and families as well as the procedures and processes for cases relating to the abuse, neglect and exploitation of children, including in relation to child criminal exploitation. As part of the department’s annual ‘Children in Need’ census, local authorities are also required to report to the department on the factors identified at the end of the assessment of children, including trafficking, missing children, gangs and child sexual exploitation, all of which may be related to the risk of child criminal exploitation. The Home Office have provided £3.6 million for the establishment of the National County Lines Co-ordination Centre (NCLCC) to enhance the intelligence picture and support cross-border efforts to tackle county lines. The NCLCC supports operational policing as well as providing a central point at which intelligence and information is shared and the links with criminal exploitation and illegal drugs markets are identified. In November 2018, the Director General of the National Crime Agency formally tasked all Chief Constables to direct all forces to implement a more consistent and prioritised intelligence and operational response, in respect of county lines drugs supply, to include the submission of intelligence to the NCLCC and a prioritised response to high-risk lines and gangs.

Children: Exploitation

Mr Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 15 July 2019 to Question 273801 on Child Exploitation, what plans his Department has to ensure that services can safeguard children at the earliest opportunity.

Mr Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the need for a contextual safeguarding framework to be used alongside other safeguarding models within the child protection system in order to more effectively identify and support children who are being exploited.

Mr Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 15 July 2019 to Question 273801 on Child Exploitation, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of implementing a contextual safeguarding framework to be used alongside other safeguarding models within the child protection system in order to better identify and support children being exploited.

Mrs Kemi Badenoch: Holding answer received on 31 July 2019



Further to the answer provided by my hon. Friend, the Member for Louth and Horncastle on 15 July 2019, the statutory guidance on inter-agency working to safeguard and promote the welfare of children, titled ‘Working together to safeguard children 2018’, is very clear that anyone who has concerns about a child’s welfare should make a referral to local authority children’s social care. This should be done immediately, if there is a concern that the child is suffering significant harm, or is likely to do so. This guidance can be found at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/working-together-to-safeguard-children--2. That same guidance also sets out that assessments, including early help assessments, should look at the nature and level of risk faced by a child, and whether the risk is from within or external to the family. In response, local areas should have a comprehensive range of effective, evidence-based services in place to address assessed needs early. A number of our best performing local authorities, known as Partners in Practice, are testing different approaches to how best to assess and support children who are at risk of abuse from extra familial threats. This includes funding up to £2 million for the London Borough of Hackney to test a contextual safeguarding approach through the Innovation Programme. The project is being externally evaluated and we expect the final report in September 2020. The department is also funding the ‘Tackling Child Exploitation Support Programme’ to provide evidence-based expertise, advice and practical support to safeguarding partners in local areas to develop an effective multi agency response to extra-familial harms, such as child sexual exploitation, child criminal exploitation, and gang and drug involvement that exploit vulnerable children.

Institutes of Technology: South West

Luke Pollard: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the timetable is for the conclusion of the final stage of contract negotiations on the formation of the South West Institute of Technology.

Mrs Kemi Badenoch: Holding answer received on 25 July 2019



The South West Institute of Technology (IoT) will be one of 12 new IoT’s backed by £170 million of government capital funding. Following the IoT competition, the department’s officials are working closely with the South West IoT to ensure that the key aspects of their proposal are converted into legally binding commitments, and that all outstanding issues are resolved. This is an important final step in the process and the department is keen to conclude it as soon as is practicable.

Speech and Language Therapy: Secondary Education

Preet Kaur Gill: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans he has to increase the support provided to children and young people in secondary schools that have speech, language and communication needs.

Mrs Kemi Badenoch: Holding answer received on 25 July 2019



On 20 June 2019, the government issued a letter responding to the ‘Bercow: Ten Years On – 1st Anniversary Update’ report, which was co-signed by ministers from the Department for Education, the Department of Health and Social Care and Ministry of Justice. The letter re-affirmed the government’s commitment to supporting children and young people with speech, language and communication needs (SLCN). In 2018, the government announced new contracts worth more than £25 million to help ensure that children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), including those relating to language and communication, receive the support they need. On 3 May 2019, the former Secretary of State for Education (Damian Hinds), my right hon. Friend, the Member for East Hampshire, announced a call for evidence on making funding improvements to support head teachers in making provision for their pupils with SEND. The call for evidence closed on the 31 July 2019.

School Meals: Food Supply

Mrs Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans he has to maintain food supplies for school dinners in the event that the UK leaves the EU without a deal.

Mrs Kemi Badenoch: Holding answer received on 25 July 2019



In the event of the UK leaving the EU without a deal, we are confident that schools will continue to be able to provide pupils with nutritious school meals. The UK has a high level of food security built upon a diverse range of sources including strong domestic production and imports from other countries. This will continue to be the case whether we leave the EU with or without a deal. The government is working in partnership with food suppliers to ensure there continues to be a flow of food into the country. We would still expect schools to meet the School Food Standards in a no-deal scenario. Schools have a great deal of flexibility in the foods that they can deliver under the School Food Standards – if a particular product is not readily available, the standards allow schools a wide range of freedom to substitute in similar foods that are available. Our guidance for schools in relation to this matter was last updated on 18 July and is published on GOV.UK at:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/eu-exit-no-deal-preparations-for-schools-in-england/eu-exit-no-deal-preparations-for-schools-in-england.

Children's Play: Finance

Angela Rayner: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what funding his Department allocated (a) to pathfinder local authorities to refurbish or build play areas as part of the national play strategy and (b) for other elements of the national play strategy in the (a) 2008-09 and (b) 2009-10 financial years.

Mrs Kemi Badenoch: Holding answer received on 25 July 2019



The allocations to local authorities to support the development of community play facilities as part of the 2008 national play strategy can be found in the Children’s Services Local Authority Circular LAC Ref: 3112080004, which can be found at the following link: https://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20090810183123/http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/play/.

Ministry of Justice

Legal Aid Scheme: Housing

Chris Elmore: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to help people in South Wales that are unable to travel to a housing legal aid provider.

Edward Argar: The Legal Aid Agency (LAA) keeps availability of legal aid providers under constant review, and takes urgent action whenever it has concerns. The LAA has recently tendered for new face-to-face housing contracts across the 134 housing and debt procurement areas across England and Wales. Contracts commenced on 1 September 2018. As of 31 May 2019, there is at least one provider offering housing and debt services in all but 4 procurement areas. Legal advice is still available in these areas through the Civil Legal Advice telephone service, and the LAA is considering how to secure provision in these areas and will set out next steps shortly. In addition to the Civil Legal Advice telephone service offering legal services in a range of issues to those who need it, we are investing £5m in innovative new technologies to help people access legal support wherever they are in England and Wales.

Courts

Yasmin Qureshi: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many sitting days in courts were presided over by a recorder in (a) England, (b) Greater London and (c) Greater Manchester in (i) each of the last three financial years and (ii) the 2019-20 financial year.

Edward Argar: The number of sittings days sat by recorders in the last three financial years in the requested locations are set out in the table below. These figures cover sitting days by recorders in County, Family and Crown Courts. 1 April 2016 to 31 March 20171 April 2017 to 31 March 20181 April 2018 to 31 December 20181England30,76930,45916,801 Greater London9,5788,9074,566 Greater Manchester1,5221,720907  1 Note these figures are only for nine months as opposed to the twelve months in the columns for 2016/17 and 2017/18. This is because the latest published data only runs to December 2018 and under the Code of Practice for Official Statistics we cannot provide any more recent data until that data (covering 2019) has been published. The data for 2019 will be published in June 2020. The latest published data is available here. https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/civil-justice-statistics-quarterly-january-to-march-2019. It is part of the Royal Courts of Justice Annual Tables (which contain at Table 5.2 a breakdown of sitting days by type of work and level of judge) The data source for these figures are a number of operational systems and as such are liable to change and may not reflect previously published statistics. Last year Crown Court trial waiting times were at their lowest since 2014, with this year’s allocation of sitting days reflecting this.

Employment Tribunals Service: Waiting Lists

Richard Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the longest waiting time was between an application for an employment tribunal and the date of first hearing in (a) 2012, (b) 2015 and (c) 2018 by employment tribunal office.

Edward Argar: The longest time between an application for an employment tribunal and the date of first hearing in (a) 2012, (b) 2015 and (c) 2018 can be found in the table below.Maximum waiting time (in weeks) from receipt to first hearing January 12- December 12 January 15- December 15January 18- December 18 All Claims 1,2All Claims 1,2All Claims 1,2Aberdeen25096142Birmingham629387216Bristol238243135Cardiff232130146Dundee146106138Edinburgh225183117Glasgow197254579Leeds595275231London Central198266209London South190206213Manchester475450289Newcastle573440244Nottingham287221394Stratford254283209Watford1954073441 Single claims are made by a sole employee/worker, relating to alleged breaches of employment rights. 2 Multiple claims are where two or more people bring proceedings arising out of the same facts, usually against a common employer. In this instance the lead multiple claim would be listed for hearing. This table provides the maximum listing time for both single and lead multiple claim cases.Timeliness is impacted by the complexity of a case, each one would be dealt with on it’s own merits and as such, some cases can take longer to progress than others. Claims such as equal pay and discrimination are types of jurisdictions which require longer hearing time and additional case management. A claim may contain one or more jurisdictional complaint (grounds for the claim). Depending upon the complexity of the jurisdiction this may importantly influence the listing of such claims.All data were taken from the Employment Tribunals Central database and as such is management information that is, provisional and subject to change. Although care is taken when processing and analysing the data, the details are subject to inaccuracies inherent in any large-scale recording system, and is the best data that is available at the time of publication. 95% of multiple claims are stayed awaiting decision from a lead claim, as these are usually complex claims involving jurisdiction such as equal pay, holiday pay and pensions and it can take some time for these claims to be dealt with. This explains why the oldest claims in the table exceed ten years in length as they spend the majority of this period as a stayed claim. HM Courts & Tribunals Service has been working with the tribunal’s judiciary to appoint additional judges to increase the capacity and performance of the tribunal. 58 (or 51.5 full time equivalent) salaried employment judges took up positions in England and Wales from April 2019.

Crown Courts: Bradford

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 10 July 2019 to Question 273758 on Courts, what the average length of time was between first court appearance and trial in Bradford Crown Court in each of the last five years.

Edward Argar: Please find attached table providing:- Average (mean and median) number of days from first listing at the magistrates’ court to main hearing at the Crown Court, for completed Crown Court trial cases at Bradford Crown Court, 2014-2018Table - Average number of days first listing to main hearing, for completed Crown Court trial cases in England and Wales, 2014 to 2018. YearNumber of defendants with completed casesFirst listing to trial start date (number of days)MeanMedian20141,3471179820151,21212110620161,18113512120171,0711411282018940156161 Notes(1) Trial is identified based on the “case type” variable (e.g. case_type =T), this is recorded at the point of receipt into the Crown Court and it is possible that not all cases went on to trial.(2) Includes cases with an offence to completion time greater than 10 years but excludes a small number of cases with identified data quality issues and breaches. (3) Includes all criminal cases which have received a verdict and concluded in the specified time period in the Crown Court. (4) Statistics are sources from linked magistrates’ courts and Crown Court administrative data systems - with a match rate of around 95%.(5) Only one offence is counted for each defendant in the case. If there is more than one offence per defendant that complete on the same day, a set of validation rules applies to select one offence only and these relate to the longest duration, seriousness and the lowest sequence number of the offence.(6) Around 95% of defendants have a main hearing date.(7) A median value of 0 indicates that the case had a first listing and was completed on the same day. (8) Committal proceedings were abolished nationally on 28 May 2013. Triable either-way cases are now sent rather than committed.

Probate: Computer Software

Liz Saville Roberts: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the efficacy of the rollout of new software at probate registries across England and Wales.

Liz Saville Roberts: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department has taken to mitigate the potential effect of the rollout of new software at probate registries across England and Wales on the length of time it takes to obtain grants of probate and letters of administration.

Liz Saville Roberts: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the average time taken was to obtain grants of probate and letters of administration from probate registries across England and Wales in each month in 2018 and 2019.

Edward Argar: The recent, temporary increase in waiting times was caused by a combination of an increased volume of incoming work and the transition to a new case management system. The move to the new system meant that staff had to spend time being trained and familiarising themselves with it. There were also some initial performance issues which have now been resolved. At the end of June 2019, 93% of users indicated, from five feedback options, that they were satisfied or very satisfied with the online application service provided. Urgent action has been taken to address the delays which have been experienced in the probate service. Her Majesty’s Courts & Tribunals Service (HMCTS) is increasing staffing levels and further improving the digital service to help reduce waiting times. Official statistics are not published on the average length of time from receipt of the application to the issue of a grant of probate and letters of administration. HMCTS internal management information, which is not subject to the rigorous quality assurance processes of official statistics, has been used to show the following average times from receipt of an application to a grant being issued:Month and year Average Weeks to grant issued January 20183February 20183March 20183April 20183May 20183June 20183July 20183August 20183September 20183October 20183November 20183December 20183January 20192February 20192March 20193  April 20192May 20196June 20199 These figures do not include cases which are waiting for a grant to be issued. The data from April 2019 to June 2019 have been extracted from the HMCTS Reform Core Case Data system, which is a new system in active development, and may not be directly comparable with figures for earlier periods. All figures, especially those for April 2019 to June 2019, are provisional and subject to revision. Some grants are experiencing delays of between four and six weeks outside of our targets as a result of significant increases in work during March and April and some technology issues which have now been resolved. We have recruited more staff and are now issuing in excess of 1,000 grants a day, which is bringing waiting times down further.

Young Offender Institutions: Ethnic Groups

Ruth Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many BAME young people were held in young offender institutions and secure units in (a) Wales, (b) Northern Ireland, (c) England and (d) Scotland in the most recent period for which figures are available.

Edward Argar: Figures published on 12th July 2019 showed that in May of this year, out of a total of 830 children, the ethnicity was known for 811 children, out of which the number of children from a Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnic background held within the youth custodial estate was 408 in England and 7 in Wales. Overall, this represents 51% of the youth custodial estate population for which the ethnicity was known across England and Wales. These figures are provisional, and might change as more data is reported. Snapshots of the youth custody data are published monthly, showing the percentage of children in custody who are from a Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnic background. Although there are monthly fluctuations, over the year 2018/19 an average of 48% of children in custody in England and Wales were from a Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnic background. The MoJ does not hold figures for Northern Ireland and Scotland. We accepted every recommendation made in David Lammy’s review of racial disparities in the criminal justice system and have since been reviewing fairness of sentence outcomes and working to improve understanding of legal advice and options for Black, Asian and ethnic minority children.

Employment Tribunals Service: Fees and Charges

Richard Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people have paid Employment Tribunal Fees during the operation of that policy.

Edward Argar: We do not collect information on the number of individual claimants who paid fees in the Employment Tribunals. The number of fee payments received in the Employment Tribunals between 29 July 2013 (when fees were introduced) and 26 July 2017 is published at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/tribunals-and-gender-recognition-certificate-statistics-quarterly-july-to-september-2017 . Fee payments do not directly correlate to the number of individual claimants because there could be multiple claimants named in single claim.

Recorders

Richard Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many Recorders have sat to hear cases in each year since 2010.

Edward Argar: Information on how many Recorders have sat to hear cases in each year has only been held centrally since 2017/18. The below table, however, sets out the number of Recorders in post at 1st April of each year since 2010. We expect Recorders in post to have been offered the opportunity to sit. YearNumber of Recorders120101,23320111,22120121,15520131,19620141,12620151,03120161,130201792020188302019873 1 Figures are at 1st April of each year.Some Recorders hold more than one judicial appointment. In such cases, the appointment that the judicial office holder undertakes for the majority of their time is known as their primary appointment. In order to avoid double counting of judges, this table shows figures for primary appointments only and as such will not count judges whose appointment as a Recorder is not their primary appointment.Figures are from the published Judicial Diversity Statistics which can be found here: https://www.judiciary.uk/publication-type/statistics/Recorders sit mainly in the Crown, County and Family Courts. Figures on court sitting days are published on Gov.uk and the latest information covering 2018 is available here. It is part of the Royal Courts of Justice Annual Tables (which contain at Tables 5.1 and 5.2 a breakdown of sitting days by type of work and level of judge): https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/civil-justice-statistics-quarterly-january-to-march-2019. This information covers both England and Wales and is published annually.

Family Courts

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 15 July to Question 273769 on Family Courts, who the person is on the panel that represents male victims.

Edward Argar: Neil Blacklock, the Development Director of Respect, a charity working with male victims of domestic abuse and those subject to allegations of domestic abuse, was appointed to the panel in July 2019. The public call for evidence, launched on the 19th July 2019 and open until the 26th August 2019, aims to collect evidence from as broad a range of perspectives as possible, including from the experiences of male victims and organisations working on their behalf, and the panel is considering other mechanisms in order to facilitate wider participation in this call for evidence.

HM Courts and Tribunals Service: Reform

Yasmin Qureshi: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 17 July 2019 to Question 263790 on HM Courts and Tribunals Service: Reform, whether the academic research for evaluation of reform was made publicly available; and what plans he has for further research on that topic in the current financial year.

Yasmin Qureshi: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 17 July 2019 to Question 263790 on HM Courts and Tribunals Service: Reform, whether the (a) content of and (b) responses to the Social Security and Child Support digital capability survey will be made publicly available.

Edward Argar: The following academic research for evaluation of reform is publicly available: Research on the Citizen User Experience: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/hmcts-citizen-user-experience-research London School of Economics evaluation of video hearings in the First-tier Tribunal (Tax Chamber):https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/implementing-video-hearings-party-to-state-a-process-evaluation We expect to publish the research on the Professional User Experience and on Social Security and Child Support appellants’ digital capability within the next six months. Flexible Operating Hours is an ongoing project and we anticipate that research will be published upon completion. On 19th July, the evaluation plan for the HMCTS flexible operating hours pilot was published and is available here:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/flexible-operating-hours-evaluation-plan-and-summary The Government has committed to undertake an overarching evaluation of the courts and tribunals modernisation programme. This will take into account existing data and management information, and further qualitative and quantitative research which we are planning to commission for the evaluation. We are planning to begin commissioning for this research shortly. We are aiming to publish the interim report of our evaluation during the course of the reform programme in 2021, and we will publish a final evaluation report following completion of the programme.

Translation Services

Yasmin Qureshi: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to Answer of 15 July 2019 to Question 275723, what the total spend of his Department was on translation services (a) in the 2017-18 financial year and (b) since 1 April 2018.

Edward Argar: This question has been interpreted to mean costs for all language services, both translators, and interpreters provided in a court setting, and for printed materials available in HMCTS buildings. The spend by Her Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service on courts translations services was as follows, Total Cost (£)Financial year 2017-1811,487,719.68Financial Year 2018-1911,000,690.76April 2019 – 30 Jun 20193,670,157.83 These figures do not include any expenditure related to central funds as these are not included in the accounts for HM Courts and Tribunals Service. Our most recent statistics show language service requests are at their highest since the new contract was introduced in 2016 the clear majority were fulfilled. It is vital that victims, witnesses and defendants understand what is happening in court to ensure justice is done, and we will always take steps to ensure a qualified interpreter is provided when needed.

Translation Services

Yasmin Qureshi: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant the Answer of 15 July 2019 to Question 275723 on Translation Services, how much funding was allocated to each  provider of translation services in each financial year since 2010-11.

Edward Argar: HMCTS do not allocate funding by supplier for any type of expenditure, so would not be able to provide details on how much was allocated for translation services by supplier.

Prisoners

Richard Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the prison population was in England and Wales in (a) 12 months to June 1997 and (b) 12 months to June 2010.

Edward Argar: The table below sets out the prison population in England and Wales in the twelve months to June 1997 and in the twelve months to June 2010: Table 1: Month-end prison population (July 1996 - June 1997, and July 2009 - June 2010); England & Wales   July 1996 - June 1997July 2009 - June 2010 July56,14183,962   August55,53784,180   September56,62184,409   October57,76484,622   November58,12684,647   December56,35184,231 January57,56083,378   February58,82083,925   March59,16185,184   April60,13185,086   May60,33585,018   June61,46785,002   Average58,168 84,470   Data sources and qualityThe figures in these tables have been drawn from administrative IT systems which, as with any large-scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing. Prison population statistics can be found by accessing the following link: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/750714/population-2018.ods The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) publishes monthly individual prison population and capacity information through the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/prison-population-statisticsWe keep the prison population and capacity under careful review to ensure that there is always sufficient capacity for offenders sent by the courts.

Social Security Benefits: Appeals

Jessica Morden: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what proportion of benefit appeals to HM Courts and Tribunal Service made against Department of Work and Pensions decisions were overturned on appeal in (a) Wales and (b) Newport East constituency in the latest period for which figures are available.

Edward Argar: Information about the volumes, outcomes, and timeliness of appeals in the First-tier Tribunal (Social Security and Child Support) (SSCS) is published at:www.gov.uk/government/collections/tribunals-statistics SSCS appeals are listed into the hearing venue nearest to the appellant’s home address. The published data (which can be viewed at the link above) provide information about the outcomes of appeals for hearing venues covering (a) Wales and (b) the Newport East constituency for January – March 2019, the latest period for which data are available. Decisions on benefit entitlement can be overturned on appeal for a variety of reasons. For instance, further evidence, including evidence in the form of oral testimony, may be provided at the hearing. Her Majesty’s Courts & Tribunals Service cannot comment on decisions made by independent tribunal judiciary. Latest figures (to March 2019) indicate that since Personal Independence Payment was introduced, 4.1 million decisions have been made, and of these, 10% have been appealed and 5% have been overturned at Tribunals. For Employment and Support Allowance (post Work Capability Assessment) to December 2018, 4.1m decisions have been made and of these 8% have been appealed and 4% have been overturned.

HM Courts and Tribunals Service: Overtime

Richard Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many hours of overtime were worked by HM Courts & Tribunals Service staff in each year since 2010.

Edward Argar: I am unable to answer this question as HM Courts and Tribunals Services does not hold the required information.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Agriculture: Subsidies

Dr David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the report entitled, Business Management Practices on Farms, England 2016/17, published by his Department in February 2018, what steps he is taking to increase the number of farm businesses that undertake (a) business and (b) land management planning; and what assessment he has made of the effect of new Environmental Land Management system as outlined in the statement of 12 September 2018 on the ability of farmers to produce land management plans.

George Eustice: The new Environmental Land Management (ELM) scheme will give farmers and land managers incentives to deliver a wide variety of environmental benefits. We are exploring the role of land management plans in the ELM scheme, including through undertaking a number of tests and trials on the use of land management plans.

Agriculture: Subsidies

Dr David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what measures will be included in a future environmental land management scheme as outlined in the policy statement of 12 September 2018 on health and harmony: the future for food farming and the environment in a green Brexit, to ensure all farm businesses can create land management plans and participate in the new payment schemes.

George Eustice: The new Environmental Land Management (ELM) scheme will give farmers and land managers incentives to deliver a wide variety of environmental benefits through paying public money for delivering environmental public goods. In developing ELM, we are exploring how to maximise participation to increase the environmental benefits that are delivered. To support this, we are undertaking a number of tests and trials which include the role of land management plans and expert advice for farmers and land managers.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: Ethnic Groups

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many BAME staff are employed at (a) grade 7, (b) grade 5 and (c) grade 3 in his Department.

George Eustice: As at 30 June, the number of BAME staff employed in the department for the grades requested is shown in the table below: BAME StaffSCS 2 (Grade 3)Less than 5SCS 1 (Grade 5)13Grade 772 As ethnic minority staff remain underrepresented at senior levels, the Civil Service set ambitious targets in June 2018 to increase the flow of ethnic minority civil servants into the SCS. Defra is committed to this activity. Summary representation rates of ethnic minority SCS by department are published on the Civil Service diversity dashboard as at December 2018. At that time, Defra had 7.1% BAME SCS representation.

Pesticides: Bees

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the EU Standing Committee on Plants, Animals, Food and Feed decision on 17 July 2019 to suspend the 2013 European Food Safety Authority guidance on bee safety tests for new pesticides, how the UK voted in that Standing Committee meeting; and what plans he has to prevent the approval of pesticides that can (a) destroy wild bee populations and (b) cause long-term harm to honeybees.

George Eustice: The Government recognises the need to protect bee populations from the effects of pesticides. This requires an effective scientific means of assessing the risks and enabling sound decisions. The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) drew up new guidance on the risk assessment in 2013, however this has not been adopted by the European Commission because a number of Member States had a variety of concerns about whether it was workable. The UK was among those proposing that the EFSA draft should be the starting point but that further work would be needed to develop it. The Commission has now decided to ask EFS to review the draft and, in the meantime to begin to introduce aspects of the draft that are considered to be more immediately implementable. The Standing Committee vote on 17 July was to make minor changes to the rules on assessing the risks of pesticides so as to reflect the partial implementation of the 2013 draft guidance. We remain committed to the continuing development of a comprehensive and workable approach to important this issue as we build the national pesticides regime after the UK leaves the EU. We will work with stakeholders to develop an up to date approach that ensures that potential risks to bees can be properly assessed.

Department for Exiting the European Union

Overseas Trade: Republic of Ireland

Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, what additional procedures companies will face in order to trade between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland in the event that the UK leaves the EU without a deal; and whether those procedures will be different to procedures at any other UK border.

James Duddridge: The Government is steadfast in our commitment to the Belfast Agreement and will do everything in our power to ensure no return to a hard border between Northern Ireland and Ireland.On 13 March, the UK Government announced a unilateral approach to checks, processes and tariffs for trade moving from Ireland to Northern Ireland. This policy aims to retain the status quo as far as possible by doing all we can to avoid a hard border. This approach is strictly temporary.The UK Government will not introduce any new checks or controls on goods crossing from Ireland to Northern Ireland, including any new customs declarations for nearly all goods. The UK temporary tariff regime would therefore not apply to goods crossing from Ireland into Northern Ireland.We would need to apply a small number of measures strictly necessary to comply with international legal obligations, protect the biosecurity of the island of Ireland, or to avoid the highest risks to Northern Ireland businesses - but these measures would not require checks at the border. Expressly:Businesses pay VAT and Excise on goods from Ireland today and the UK Government would continue to collect these taxes on Irish goods in future. Small businesses trading across the border and not currently VAT registered would be able to report VAT online periodically without any new processes at the border. Traders would need to make electronic declarations for excise goods.To protect human, animal, and plant health, animals and animal products from countries outside the EU would need to enter Northern Ireland through a designated entry point and regulated plant material from outside the EU and high risk EU plant material would require certification. Plants and plant products which have not been previously checked by an EU Member state would need to be pre-notified before arriving in the UK and checked at authorised inland trade premises.To fulfil essential international obligations, there would be new UK import requirements such as checks on documents or registration for a very limited set of goods, such as endangered species and hazardous chemicals. This would not involve any infrastructure or checks at the border including in Northern Ireland.Because these are unilateral measures, they only mitigate the impact of exit that are within the UK Government’s control. These measures do not set out the position in respect of tariffs or processes to be applied to goods moving from Northern Ireland to Ireland. The Irish Government has so far not set out their position on the procedures for goods moving across the land border from Northern Ireland to Ireland.In a no deal scenario, we are committed to entering into discussions urgently with the European Commission and the Irish Government to jointly agree long-term measures to avoid a hard border.